67 kms | 3 h 12 m | avg speed 20.9 km/h | avg hr 148 bpm | ? kcal
Today was the first team ride in France as preparation for the Tour du ALS. We went from the camping to the top of the Mont Ventoux and from there to Sault and came back. A total of 67 kms in a very windy day. Take a look after the link and some photos. Great team, great fist ride.
We started the day riding at 9:30 and went from the camping site to the top of the mountain, that is 6 kms to the top. From the top we went down to Chalet Reynard and that was a challenge. The wind was blowing very strong, wind force 6 day say, and it was a challenge just to stay on top of the bike. At some points we were pushed sideways almost out of the road. Pretty scary.
From Chalet the group split: one part went back to the camping site and a group of 10 went all the down to Sault and back. The descend was quite nice. I tried to stick to visual contact with Fletcher but he is too quick for me. It was a sketchy one due to the wind but very fun.
From Sault, we moved back up the mountain. 26 kms uphill. I decided to go easy on the first part, that is an average of 4% and did it with Fletcher and Dolon. The rest decided to take a easier and we didn’t see them anymore. We rode a steady pace and the wind some times helped and sometimes slowed us down. At one point we were climbing at 30 kms/h. How often can you say “I’ve climbed Ventoux at 30 km/h”. Thank you mister wind.
From Chalet Reynard, our little group 3 split. Dolon, that was saving his legs until then, pushed hard and dropped us. I kept the pace and Fletcher decided to slow down because wind was messing his hair (I guess). I tried to keep Dolon at visual contact and managed to do that until the last kilometer. The wind was pushing us in every direction. Sometimes it was helping and sometimes it was so strong headwind that it made me almost stop.
Happy with the result. Tomorrow we are taking it easy but will ride the Gorge de la Nesque, one of the most beautiful climbs of the day. See some pictures below.
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